Garden

01/29/2018

I have wanted a little free library for years! I designed this modern number with a living roof and Jason helped turn my dream into a reality. If you want the complete DIY details you can find them on the DIY Network. This spacious design allows for lots of books, even bulky cookbooks and tall magazines. I wanted a space where I could share fiction and non-fiction for kids and adults alike. The coolest part is how much it has already gotten used and neighbors have shared so many cool books!

09/14/2017

It's late summer and if your garden is anything like mine you've got more herbs than you know what to do with. Preserve all that summery goodness with this super fun handmade herb drying rack. With a few simple supplies and two easy-to-learn macrame knots you can make your own! Get all the details on the DIY Network. And read on for a few ideas on how to put all those lovely herbs to use!

07/29/2017

What's more fun than dining al fresco? Picking your own garnish right from the center of the table! We've had an outdoor table with a tile top for several years, we got it at Target but I've seen this style all over, maybe you've got a similar one? If so, you're going to love this project!

This in-table herb pot is affordable and oh so simple. It's a great way to get the kids excited about gardening and eating!

02/07/2017

This handmade tiny treehouse is my new favorite kid craft. It is simple yet sculptural, collaborative yet kid-led, and the best part? You're left with a stunning piece to decorate your space and encourage creative play.

This is a really great winter project. It may be too stormy to play outside, but you can bring the outdoors in with this sculpture that doubles as a play platform for your kiddo's favorite toys. We chose to keep our design fairly simple, but you could really go all out, the skies the limit! Your kids can create the treehouse of their dreams, no major construction required!

06/07/2016

The posts for the Mini Maker's Guide to Summer Fun have all been so awesome! I can't wait to try all of the rad ideas! (You can find them all here.) My contribution to this fab line up is a DIY Bug Hotel.

This is a great way to create a home for beneficial insects and an excuse to use power tools (although I offer ideas if you'd rather skip that bit). It gets the kids outside, not just to gather the materials and make the craft, but to check in and observe the inhabitants! We have only had it in place for a week and it's already become my go-to suggestion if I want to encourage the boys to play outside. "Why don't you check on the bug hotel?" does the trick every time.

The simplest version of this project can be completed with a cinder block stuffed full of things you likely already have lying around the garden. But if you're feeling ambitious, you can bust out the power tools and take the making to the next level. If you are comfortable using a drill and you have school-aged children I encourage you to let them help with this. Kids feel empowered and have so much fun using real tools. Of course it's important to provide instruction and supervision, but the long summer days are the perfect time to dive into a power tool project.

First you'll want to gather supplies, we didn't go any further than our neighbor's yard to find what we needed. Straw, small sticks, bark, logs, pine cones, and pieces of bamboo all make great filling for bug accommodations.

If you like you can simply gather these supplies and stuff them into the holes of a cinder block, a section of large diameter pipe, or even an old garden pot. But if you want to make a deluxe hotel you'll first need to make a box! We used some plywood scraps that we had around to create ours. Use self-driving screws (or good old hammer and nails) to put it together. To help our box survive the elements we gave the outside a nice coat of exterior paint.

Next you'll want to prep your logs, first by cutting them to the width of your box, then by drilling holes in them. If you are hoping to create a home for native mason bees use a 5/16" drill bit. The trick to drilling these holes safely is to hold the log firmly between your feet and apply gentle even pressure with the drill. Jude got the hang of it right away!

Now comes the part that every one can get in on: filling your box with stuff! I used twine to create bundles out of the straw and bamboo but otherwise we just kept shoving stuff in until is was full.

Once you're finished with the filling it's ready to be installed in the garden! We set ours on an old outdoor side table so that the kids could easily observe it. Hanging it would be another great option. If you don't have one near by, be sure to provide a water source. Ours is just a plastic platter filled with a few stones and an inch or so of water.

Then just sit back and wait for your guests to arrive.

Your garden and your kids are sure to be very happy!

Here's hoping your summer is extra fabulous! You and your mini makers are sure to have lots of fun new ideas to try! Remember, we will be using the hashtag #makingsummerfun all summer long, please join in when you make something! I'd love to see what inspired you and I'm sure you've got your own great ideas to share!

09/22/2015

When I was little I dreamed of someday having a pergola covered in grapevines. I'm not quite sure why I thought it was so fancy or wonderful, but when we bought our home it already had a pergola, so I just had to plant grapes. This is the third year that we have been able to enjoy both shade and fruit from that little vine. Ronan loves to lay on the outdoor bed and eat freshly picked grapes by the fistful. Overall, I'd have to say this pergola dripping in delicious grapes really is a dream come true.

This year we have been enjoying an extra bountiful grape harvest and I was starting to wonder what to do with all that fruit! Grape jelly isn't really my jam, but I do buy raisins in bulk. So Jude and I set out to see if we could make our own raisins. We decided sun drying would be really tough, because we have a serious raccoon problem. And we don't have a dehydrator, so that left the oven. They came out so yummy and they were so easy to make, I just had to share the "recipe" with you.

This a great project to do with kids and if you grow your own grapes, it's an awesome way to get almost free organic raisins! One word of warning: it does take about 12-18 hours in a low oven, so don't plan on making raisins and baking bread on the same day!

How To Make Raisins In An Oven

1. Wash your grapes and pull them from their stems, discard any yucky ones.

2. Blanch your grapes in boiling water for about 30 seconds, then place them in an ice bath or rinse them under cold water.

3. Line a baking sheet (or two) in parchment paper and spread the grapes evenly in a single layer.

4. Bake on your oven's lowest setting (mine was 170 degrees Fahrenheit) for about 12-18 hours. Turn your grapes at least once and check them at 12 hours, if they look like raisins, they're done!

5. Enjoy delicious homemade raisins!! Store any you don't eat right away in an airtight container.

Jude and I used some if ours to make healthy oatmeal cookies for his kindergarten class, he was so excited to tell his friends that he had made the raisins!

07/17/2015

The drought here in California is serious and scary. We have been asked to reduce our water usage as much as possible and for the most part the sacrifices have been easy. I have no problem taking quick showers and letting the lawn get brown, but I didn't want to miss out on a fruit and vegetable harvest. I set out to make my vegetable garden as drought-friendly as possible and I've teamed up with Edyn to share my very best tips. The best part? These gardening tips are super helpful, even if you don't have to worry about drought!

How To Grow A Drought-Friendly Garden

1. Use Straw Mulch. A thick layer of straw really helps keep moisture where you want it, in the ground. You have many options for mulch but I have had the most success with straw and as an added bonus, it's cheap!

2. Monitor with Edyn. This thing is so rad! Edyn is a sensor that lives in your garden and connects to your smart phone. It relays valuable information about moisture, nutrition, light, and humidity. It takes all the guess work out of when to water. With it's help I have been able to keep my garden just moist enough without overwatering.

3. Install Drip Irrigation. Watering your plants right at the soil helps insure that you don't waste water to evaporation or areas that don't have plants. Installing drip irrigation doesn't have to be a complicated endeveavor. In fact, my favorite way to water my raised beds is with soaker hose. I zigzag a soaker hose around the plants, cover it with straw, and attach it directly to a hose bibb (you can also attach it to a hose with an adaptor). Then I just barely turn on the faucet and let it slowly drip into the soil.

4. Try Deep Watering with Milk Jugs. This year I decided to try watering my tomatoes as little as possible. We live in too arid a place to truly dry farm, but with the help of this DIY watering system I have been able to water them deeply, and rarely. Simply save up one gallon milk jugs, drill a few hole in the sides and bury them in between your plants. Whenever your plants are thirsty, fill the jugs, and the water will slowly seep into the earth right where your plants need it most.

5. Recycle Water. In a perfect world we would all have rain catchment and grey water systems complete with cisterns and pumps, but there are simple ways to collect water that would otherwise go to waste. Consider placing a rain barrel at one of your roof's down spouts. And if you use earth friendly soaps you can recycle bath water for your thirsty plants.

6. Skip the Water Hogs. Gardening in drought conditions does involve some sacrifice. I skipped watermelons, cucumbers, and corn this year because they tend to need a whole lot of water.

7. Try Some Shade. I planted greens (chard and kale) in most-to-partial shade. It helps them not bolt in the summer heat and they require much less water than when they are planted in full sun.

8. Plant Perennials. Consider expanding your fruit and vegetable haul with unthristy perennials. My artichokes receive no supplemental water and I get a great harvest every winter and spring. We also have a pomegranate tree that once established needs no extra water and provides us will loads of jewel studded fruit! Grapes are another rough-friendly perennial, our pergola is dripping with grapes and I never water the vine! Woody herbs such as rosemary and thyme are also drought resistant.

9. Use Compost. Compost not only provides nutrients for your plants, it also helps improve the water retention of your soil. Furthermore, having nutrient rich soil helps your plants grow strong and hearty, making them better able to withstand periods of dryness. Plus, if you use compost your Edyn will tell you that your plants love you!

10. Try Containers. Grouping plants with the same water needs in containers or raised beds helps a lot. This way you can easily water according to needs without excess waste. I love planting my strawberries in a big galvanized tub where it's easy to give them the water they need.

I hope these tips help you enjoy gardening, even in dry conditions!

Here's to a Happy (Guilt-Free) Harvest!

A big thanks to Edyn for sponsoring this post. As always all words, photos, and opinions are my own.

06/04/2015

In an effort to reclaim my maker mojo I am trying to simply create on a whim (i.e. not "researching" on Pinterest for hours or thinking "that would be neat" and never getting around to it). This hurry-up-and-make attitude has always yielded my best results, but as my family has grown and my free-time has dwindled, I've struggled to drop everything and follow an idea to it's ultimate end. So I decided to start small, literally.

I had recently amassed a fun little collection of air plants and while I was washing dishes one evening I gazed at those little cuties on my window sill and thought "those look exactly like tiny pineapple tops" a bit of polymer clay and some gold paint later, I had myself some super cute mini pineapple air plant holders.

This easy and adorable little project can totally be accomplished in stolen moments between folding laundry and writing blog posts. Plus, kids will love getting in on the action which means you can rev up your maker mojo AND connect with your kiddo. Read on to learn how to make your own.

DIY Mini Pineapple Air Plant Holders

You'll need

White polymer clay

Bamboo skewer

Air plants (Tillandsia 'Ionatha')

Gold paint

Directions:

Shape a section of clay into an oval (pineapple) shape and press one end gently into a hard surface so that it stands on it's own.

Place a skewer through the center and angling it towards the top wind it in a circle to create a hole for your air plant.

Gently nestle the air plant into the hole so that you create ridges. Optional: use the tip of your skewer to draw diagonal lines in both directions all the way around your pineapple.

Bake your clay according to the manufacture's instructions. I did mine at 275 F for 40 minutes.

Once your clay dries paint it. For the ridged design, simple cover the whole thing in gold paint. For smooth designs you can paint small X's all over or tilt your pineapple and dip it in paint. (Hint to dry the dipped pineapple insert stab your skewer into something and place your pineapple on it so that it can dry upside down.

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